In The End
by adventurous97
Summary: A Dawsey oneshot about being grateful for the little things in life. AU post-episode 3x10.


**So the idea for this oneshot came into my head this morning and wouldn't go away until I typed it all out! I hope you all like it - I'm desperately hoping that Dawson and Casey work it all out in the second half of season 3 (because I ship them so much!)**

**Please feel free to leave a review and check out my other stories! Thanks for reading! :D**

In The End: A Dawsey Oneshot

As Dawson opened a cold beer that she'd just pulled out of the fridge, she heard Casey cheering as he watched the Blackhawks game in the living room.

"Did they score?" she yelled from the kitchen.

Casey peeked his head around the corner and said, "Yeah! They did! We're winning by two goals now!" He was smiling; the Blackhawks had been his favorite sports team since he was a kid, and Dawson smiled a little, the sun setting outside the windows of the living room.

It had been three days since Boden's baby, Terrence, had been born and then rushed into Chicago Med. While not much was clear yet, the baby had potential respiratory complications. Mills and Brett had also been rescued by Voight's Intelligence Unit less than twelve hours ago and had been rushed to Chicago Med. While everyone at 51 had felt massive relief upon hearing that Mills and Brett were alive and rushed to the hospital at the end of their shift, the doctors had told everyone to go home and rest for the night because Mills and Brett weren't likely to wake up until the next morning.

That had been two hours ago.

Dawson took another sip of beer as she went back into the living room and sat down at the empty end of the couch. Since their argument in the firehouse three days ago when Dawson had left shift early, they had been talking a little more – but there was still a major rift. Dawson wanted everything to be okay between them more than anything, but knew that their problems wouldn't disappear in a flash. She just hoped that Casey would soon be smiling more at her than at the Blackhawks scoring a goal in the near future.

As the TV went commercial, Dawson heard her phone buzzing in the kitchen and rushed to see the caller ID. _Antonio, _it read. Dawson unplugged her phone from its wall charger and hit _Answer._

"Hello?" Dawson asked.

"Dawson? Is it you? Sorry to freak you out, it's Brett, Antonio let me use his phone because he's watching my room," Brett said quickly. Dawson was surprised and worried because Brett sounded like she was panicking.

"Brett? You're awake! Is something wrong?" Dawson asked, concerned.

"Dawson, can you come down here? I know Antonio is here to protect me but I'm really scared and worried about Mills and the doctors won't tell me anything about his status. Please come," Brett begged, on the verge of tears from all of the emotions flowing through her.

Dawson replied, "Of course, of course. I'll be there in fifteen minutes, so hang tight until then, okay?"

"Okay," Brett said, pressing _End _and handing the phone back to Antonio. Dawson immediately sprinted around the apartment to locate shoes, a snack bar, a jacket, keys, and her purse. "Where are you going?" Casey asked, eyes still fixed on the TV.

"Brett just woke up and she's panicking. I'm going in to see her," Dawson said monotonously.

"You want me to drive you?" Casey asked, turning towards Dawson, who was in the midst of zipping up her boots.

"No thanks, I'm good. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure," Casey said, Dawson already halfway out the door.

***Fifteen minutes later, in Brett's hospital room Chicago Med***

Dawson took a quick look at the room number Antonio had texted her as she headed for the elevators inside the hospital lobby. As soon as the elevator doors opened on the right floor, she sprinted down the hall and turned into Brett's room.

When she walked in, Antonio was leaning over Brett trying to give her calm thoughts while Dr. Arata was checking Brett's vitals and making sure that she was, other than being panicked, stable. As soon as Brett saw Dawson, she heaved a sigh of relief and leaned forward to hug Dawson. Antonio stepped back as Brett began to cry into Dawson's shoulder.

"It's okay," Dawson said repeatedly while rubbing Brett's back, "You're gonna be fine. You're safe now."

After Brett had calmed down and wiped away her tears, Dr. Arata told Brett, Gabby, and Antonio that Brett had a mild concussion and two broken ribs that had had to be set, so he wanted her to stay in the hospital for a few days. He then left the room.

"Hey, Antonio," Gabby said, "Sorry I didn't say hi a few minutes ago."

"No biggy," Antonio chuckled, "I'm glad I was here so she could call you." He paused, then said, "I'm gonna go call Voight and update him on my way to the bathroom, so I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Brett replied, and Antonio promptly exited the room, leaving Gabby and Brett alone.

Brett leaned against the back of the bed while Gabby sat down on the edge of the bed. Brett said, "I'm glad you came when you did. I was totally freaking out and Arati or what's-his-name was threatening to sedate me."

"Well I'm here now," Gabby replied, "How are you feeling?"

"Not very good, but I'm sure I'll feel better eventually. IVs suck." Brett and Gabby chuckled before Brett asked, "How are you and Casey? Still rough?"

Gabby sighed and said, "A little better than a few days ago, but still not back to normal.

"You know, being here reminds me of when Casey got hit in the head trying to save a baby in a building fire a year ago. We had only been dating for a couple of weeks. It turned out that he had an epidermal hematoma. And I was so damn scared that I was going to lose him that I was just in a state of panic for a while…like you were when you called me tonight."

"That's awful," Brett said, "You're so strong, I can't imagine you being panicked."

"Ah, my emotional and panicked side comes out every once in a while. My brother's been shot twice in the last two years, and I witnessed it the first time. That day was terrifying," Dawson replied, suddenly unsettled by all the freakish memories that were flowing back into her head. Just before she was about to continue, Casey walked into the room.

"Hey Brett," he said with a smile, "Good to see you're awake."

"Thanks," Brett replied.

Dawson, really surprised at Casey's sudden arrival, asked, "Casey, could you go check on Mills' status? I think he's downstairs?" When Casey hesitated, Dawson gave him a look and stood up as she said, "Okay, I will then. Antonio's back now…Brett, will you be okay until I get back?"

"Uh…sure," Brett replied slowly, slightly worried about what Casey would say if it was only the two of them in the room…if he decided to speak at all.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Antonio peeked his head in and asked, "Do you want me to close the door?"

"No, just pull it to a little, thanks," Brett replied. About thirty seconds of awkward silence followed, so Brett just decided to spit out what was on her mind.

"Casey?"

"Yes?"

"Dawson's told me that you and her have hit some obstacles lately. And, well, I just wanted to tell you that she told me about your epidermal hematoma last year and how scared she was that she was going to lose you.

"I know it's none of my business and I have no right to intervene in your relationship, because that is between you and Dawson, but while I might have been obsessing about a little thing such as the shade of brown on my "Santa Bites" a few days ago, in the end, today, I'm just thankful to be alive. And sometimes harsh events like Mills and I being kidnapped put life in a harsh perspective – God knows I never want to relive the past two days ever again. But look – in the end it's the little things that matter, like having someone you love to come home to and being alive and healthy."

"Do you two talk a lot?" Casey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Brett replied, raising one of her own eyebrows, "Since we're the only two girls in the house we've got to lean on each other every now and again. And just as a bystander," she paused leaning forward a bit, "Dawson was smiling from ear to ear the day after you proposed to her."

Before Brett could say any more, Dawson jogged back into the room. "Ruzek and the doctors told me downstairs that Mills is beaten up pretty bad and he's still unconscious, but he's alive and they're optimistic that he'll make a full recovery."

"Thank God," Brett said, heaving another sigh of relief, "Thanks, Dawson."

"No problem," Dawson replied with a smile. Casey announced that he was going to go check in on Boden upstairs and then head home to bed, and at Brett's request, Dawson agreed to stay in Brett's room for the night to keep her calm. She still didn't have a clue about what Brett and Mills went through, but she knew just as well as anyone that she would let it out when they were ready.

***The next morning***

"You promise you'll come back later? I think Boden might have called all the guys last night so they'll all be showing up soon," Brett asked as the sun peeked over the horizon.

"Yes, I will come back later," Dawson agreed, pulling on her coat, "I don't have shift for another two days, but I'm just going to go take a shower and eat some food and then I will be back. I think Antonio's off duty since he had last night's shift, so Halstead will be sitting outside for at least this morning."

"Good to know," Brett said, realizing that the cop sitting outside her room was in fact Halstead. "Thanks again, Dawson. I really appreciate it."

"Of course, Brett. I'm happy to visit anytime for some girl talk," Dawson smirked, saying a final goodbye before leaving the room.

"In there all night, huh?" Halstead asked as Gabby walked out the door.

"Yeah, she was panicking when she woke up yesterday and I seemed to help calm her down."

"Is she going to be okay while you're gone?"

"Brett will be fine now, she just needed some support last night. She's been through a lot."

"Did she say anything about what happened? Because you know we're eventually going to need a statement from her," Halstead replied in a more serious tone.

"She isn't ready to open up yet, so sit tight," Dawson ordered, and Halstead got the message to not ask Brett about her ordeal just yet.

***Twenty minutes later Casey and Dawson's apartment***

As she unlocked the front door to her and Casey's apartment, she was desperately wanting to take a hot shower and eat some warm food. She hadn't dared venture into the hospital cafeteria before she left because she knew from experience that hospital food didn't cooperate with her stomach.

"Hello?" she yelled into the apartment. No reply sounded as she locked the door and took off her boots. "Matt! I'm back!" she yelled as she rounded the corner, immediately gasping as she saw the dining table.

Casey had covered the table in a gold tablecloth and placed three candles on the table plus plates stacked with pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. A bottle of sparkling wine and two wine glasses sat in the middle of the table. Casey appeared from the bedroom as Gabby was admiring the sight.

"Matt?" she asked in surprise. "What's this for?"

He took both of her hands and said, "I don't know how else to say this other than I'm sorry. I know I was being a jerk earlier this week and refusing to admit that I had been a jerk was only making things worse. I know things have been difficult lately but I want you to know that I love you so much and I never will give up on us. Ever.

"So, I decided to make this," he continued, gesturing to the table, "As an apology. I made mistakes and I'm sorry." By the time Matt finished talking, Gabby was crying, so he wiped away her tears with his thumbs as she said, "I'm sorry too, Matt. I realize now that I was too quick to jump into the candidate thing on 81 and now I'm thinking that maybe I should transfer."

"Why?" Casey asked, apparently a little taken aback.

"Because I want to marry you and get the rest of our lives started," Dawson said, "But we can do all that _after _I take a shower and we eat this delicious-looking food."

"Sounds good to me," Casey said, closing the distance between them with a passionate kiss.


End file.
